The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics) by Alexandre Dumas père
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Book Reviews of The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: The Count of Monte Christo
Summary: 5 Stars
The Conte of Monte Christo
The Count of Monte Christo, written by Alexandre Dumas, is about a man named Edmond Dantes who experiences many twists and turns in his life. Edmond Dantes is a respected sailor who was going to marry a girl named Mercedes. Edmond was going to be the captain of his own ship and make a living. He lived in France in 1825 with his father. He is falsely accused of being a Bonapartist (a friend of Napoleon's) on the day of his wedding. Two men planned this accusation and they both benefited from his disappearance. Edmond was sent to a horrible prison and after a month an old man tunnels into his cell. The old man becomes Edmond's teacher in language, manners, and math. He also tells him the names of his two enemies, Danglars and Fernand. Edmond is filled with the power of vengeance and vows to avenge himself. Together, they plan their escape but the old man is hit by a disease. Before the old man dies, he gives Edmond a treasure map. Edmond uses quick thinking to devise a plan to escape and retrieve the treasure. Edmond gets out of jail and recovers the treasure making himself rich. He starts to do good deeds for others and changes his name to the Count of Monte Christo. The Count (Edmond) begins to slowly avenge himself while he helps out "Edmond Dantes'" loyal friends even though it is Edmond who is really helping them.
My favorite quotes are "I have instilled in your heart vengeance" and "For the last four nights I have been watching over you." These quotes show the two main meanings of this book, which are Edmond getting vengeance and Edmond helping his friends. The Count of Monte Christo is a fiction/adventure book that tells Edmond Dantes life story and his adventures. Alexandre Dumas creates great pictures in my mind with his fabulous details. He made the characters consistently sound the same in their dialogue. He used wonderful language and added a little bit of humor in some parts. I was amazed how he mixed English and French together.
I would recommend this book to fourteen or fifteen year olds because it is hard to comprehend and the language is old fashioned. I think that it would be hard for younger children to keep track of all the characters. The Count of Monte Christo is unlike any other book that I have read. It is the only book that has had me guessing all the way through. I would infer something and then I was completely wrong, which makes the book exciting. I would compare the Count of Monte Christo to the Lord of the Rings because they are both great adventures. They are extremely well written books and I like them both. Another book series that I compare The Count of Monte Christo to is the Clive Cussler, Dirk Pitt series because in both of the books there are great schemes. In the books, written by Clive Cussler, the people who make up the ingenious schemes are bad. In The Count of Monte Christo, the good guy is the schemer who plots his revenge. They both have good schemes but what separates them is that the good guy is outsmarting the bad guys, Fernand and Danglars. The Count of Monte Christo is the best genre it could be. Very few fantasy or mystery books that I have read matched up to it. The Harry Potter series and Eragon were also good books that I would compare to The Count of Monte Christo.
This book was really addicting and I read the whole thing in three days. I was completely hooked by the twentieth page because of the author's detail. I could not put down the book; I even brought it in the car for a two minute drive. The book ended with a twist that I never saw coming.
Book Review: Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and Three Musketeers
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a review of Alexandre Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and Three Musketeers. Examples are used from the texts to make certain points, so please consider this your spoiler alert. Both of these books are classics and are worth reading for that reason alone. Further, both books are examples of how adventure should be written. However, for a number of reasons, I think Count of Monte Cristo is a great book while Three Musketeers is merely good.
The main point of contrast between these two books is found in their differing approaches to virtue. Though neither book provides much in the way of morality and virtue, as do much of Dickens' works, Count of Monte Cristo seems to presume that there is such a thing as virtue while Three Musketeers does not. While both books have much to do with revenge, Dantès revenge seems righteous because he has clean hands, so to speak. The defining characteristics of Dantès before he was framed and sent to the Châtead d'If were his rising career in the navy and his loving commitment to his fiancée Mercédès. Even as Dantès pursues his revenge there is a sense of virtue as he spares Danglars and comes to the aid of Valentine and Maximilien, ensuring for them a future together in love. These are admirable actions by Dantès, and there are others. Even Mercédès remains a virtuous, though complex and often melancholy, character.
Conversely, d'Artagnan's revenge and actions feel base and vulgar. Whereas Dantès seems motivated by righteous judgment and goodwill to good folks, d'Artagnan seems motivated solely by self-advancement and the chance for cheap sex. I suppose some might argue that d'Artagnan's love for Constance has the flavor of virtue, but his affair with Milady and the fact that Constance is a married woman more than set the relationship of d'Artagnan and Constance apart from that of Dantès and Mercédès or even Dantès and Haydée (who enter into a relationship with a sense of permanence toward the end of Count of Monte Cristo without the baggage of adultery).
Even more disturbing than the lack of virtue in d'Artagnan is the lack of virtue in every other character in Three Musketeers. Milady's seduction of Felton is particularly repulsive as Felton was, up until his foolish aid to Milady, a particularly virtuous fellow. And though d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis all exhibit qualities of commitment to one another, this is not enough to overcome their many personal flaws. d'Artagnan's declared commitment to the Cardinal at the end of the book, which is basically a repudiation of allegiance to the Queen, also leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Aside from the topic of virtue, there is one other thing that sets Count of Monte Cristo apart from Three Musketeers: it is painfully obvious, at times, that in the latter Dumas is being paid by the page. To be sure, Dumas was paid by the page for Count of Monte Cristo, too. However, the literary quality of Monte Cristo is never compromised, in my opinion, while Three Musketeers contains some obvious filler.
If you're only going to read one of these books, I recommend reading Count of Monte Cristo, though Three Musketeers is also a good adventure that will keep your attention. If you read either, be sure to read the unabridged version (the Penguin Classic editions are unabridged).
Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo Reviewed
Summary: 5 Stars
Alexandre Dumas' novel The Count of Monte Cristo tells the story of a promising young sailor, Edmond Dantés, and his transformation into the Count of Monte Cristo after being wrongly imprisoned for life in one of France's most infamous and brutal prisons, the Chateau d'If. The bulk of the plot follows Dantés' life after his miraculous escape from prison, as he ruins the lives of each of those responsible for his torment.
The story begins with a teenage Dantés receiving the position of captain upon the Pharaon, a trading vessel stationed in Marseilles, France. This position allows him enough money to finally marry the love of his life, Mercédès, which enrages Fernand Mondego, a fisherman who is also after Mercédès' heart. Mondego, with the help of Monsieur Danglars, a sailor jealous of Dantés' position as captain, decides to write a letter to Monsieur de Villefort, chief magistrate, denouncing Dantés as a man guilty of treason, as he supposedly still supports Napoleon Bonaparte's regime as evidenced by a letter he was supposed to hand to Villefort's father. Dantés is then sentenced to life in prison, where he meets the Abbé Faria who teaches him everything he needs to know to become an aristocratic Count, enabling him to execute his revenge. What follows is an adventurous tail of one man's story as he wreaks havoc on those responsible for his imprisonment.
After seeing the movie based on this story and hearing from others how influential the novel is, I decided to give the seemingly enormous 400-page book a shot. Unfortunately for me, I accidentally chose the abridged version (the normal book is over 1000 pages) and could only enjoy the book for short time, as I finished it within a week. Dumas' unique writing style and uncanny ability to tell a story make The Count of Monte Cristo an easy and suspenseful read. Dumas excellently develops each character so the reader can truly understand the motives for their actions and combines each individual story line in a way that is, albeit confusing and at times hard to follow, amazingly interesting. Every character is somehow intertwined and each plays a unique role in contributing to the downfall of others within the story. More importantly, after finishing the novel, readers come away having learned a lot about human nature and life in general.
Those thinking they will find the book similar to the movie be warned: it is much, much better. Whereas the Hollywood version of the story focuses on the love between Mercedes and Dantés, the novel incorporates no such story line after Dantés' escape. Furthermore, the novel is much more intricate in plot, as more central characters are incorporated into the story and tons of seemingly small details and side stories come together to play a crucial part in The Count's quest for destruction. The central story line, writing style, and themes of the novel all come together to make The Count of Monte Cristo a great read.
Book Review: Do yourself a favor and read the book.... the whole book
Summary: 5 Stars
The Count of Monte Cristo stirs the passions of everyone who reads it - so much so that it has been made and remade a half-dozen times in English, a fairly astonishing fact since the Dumas classic is originally en Francais. It is one of the most popular and best-selling novels of history and it is difficult to say whether this book or "The Three Musketeers" is the most popular novel by Alexandre Dumas, père.
The story is set up perfectly by Dumas: Merchant ship "Phaeron" pulls into Marseilles in 1815. First mate Edmond Dantès leaps onto the pier to report to owner Monsieur Morrel that although the ship has returned as planned with goods, Captain Leclère passed away on the journey, leaving Edmund as acting Captain.
Morrel immediately promotes Dantès to Phaeron's Captain, just before Edmund runs to reunite with his beautiful fiancée Mercédès. Dantès, the hard-working son of a commoner, can hardly believe his fortune. He has been promoted to ship's Captain at a young age and is about to marry the most beautiful young lady in town.
But something is rotten in Marseilles...
Jealousy prompts rivals Danglars (the Phaeron's purser) and Lieutenant Fernand Mondego (also desiring Mercédès) to conspire to write a secret note to the authorities accusing Edmund of being a Bonapartist traitor.
Soldiers come to arrest Edmund at his engagement party. He is hauled before Villefort, an apparently sympathetic prosecutor. Villefort seems kindly until he realizes there actually IS a Bonapartist traitor around... the prosecutor's father. To protect the family name (and his career ambitions), Villefort has our hero put away.
Edmond Dantès goes from the heights of happiness to the depths of despair - without explanation he is thrown into the darkest, dampest dungeon of France's Alcatraz - the Chateau d'If.
For those unfamiliar with the story, it may appear that I have given it all away, but you will find that this is only the setup for the most thrilling tale of hope and despair, vengeance and mercy, nobility and justice and revenge. The story comes complete with exciting sword fights, poisonings, secrets identities, kidnappings, last-second escapes, underground catacombs and formal balls. Especially for a character of two hundred years ago, Dantès makes James Bond seem a dullard by comparison.
If you have only seen "the movie" you have not at all had the pleasure of the layers and textures of this sublime story. The 1975 Richard Chamberlain is okay, if truncated, but the 2002 version with James Caviezel is practically an abomination.
Are you a "book person"? Do yourself a favor and immerse yourself in this treasure, and perhaps no other book more deserves a reading of the unabridged version.
Book Review: Just Awe-Inspiring
Summary: 5 Stars
In the same spirit of challenge that led me to read Pride and Prejudice and A Tale of Two Cities (and find that they have become irreplaceable parts of my bookshelf) and that will lead me to read others like Don Quixote, Ivanhoe, and The Three Musketeers, I have now officially read The Count of Monte Cristo, and I can say that it was the easiest and most thrilling of all the classics I have yet read.
Oh, sure, A Tale of Two Cities was tearjerking and triumphantly sad, and Pride and Prejudice just made you want to squeal in happiness, but The Count of Monte Cristo makes you think, makes you tear up (not out of sadness, at the wonder of the dialogue and the love you have for the characters -- and this is a translation!) makes you wonder, and finally, makes you go to this page to write a glowing 5-star review for one of the greatest books ever written in any language.
If you're not fluent in French you'll do fine with this book, though without a basic knowledge of just a few words you might have a little trouble with it, and without having heard of some of the places or having been to France, you might not know exactly what the Champs-Elysees or Chateau d'If is. It doesn't matter. Those aren't the focal points of the book. The story is Edmond Dantes, happy and fortunate young sailor, about to become captain of his own ship, marry his beloved Mercedes, and live happily ever after. Then success is snatched from his hand and he is unjustly thrown into the monstrous prison of Chateau d'If, where he spends fourteen years vowing to avenge himself.
He gets out eventually, in one of the most dazzling and vivid scenes ever written, and makes his fortune finding buried treasure on the tiny island of Monte Cristo. Henceforth he is known as the Count of Monte Cristo: Enigmatic, a little surreal, and ready to exact perfect reward for those who did him well -- and perfect justice for those who did him evil.
But there are complications that even the mighty count couldn't have foreseen: the son of his ex-fiancee and his bitter enemy befriends him, the son of his dead benefactor is in love with the daughter of the man who sentenced him to life in prison to protect his career, and the question comes up: When is revenge right, how far do you go, and do humans even have the right?
It's a fantastic story, a memorable and fast-paced story, and, unlike a few books I could mention, truly deserves its label of classic. For those who like action: This book has prison, escape, treasure, poison, love, cruelty, redemption, revenge, forgiveness, ambiguity, sadness, triumph, and hope. Don't be daunted by the page count. It's a true work of art.
Has anyone got a copy of the Three Musketeers?
Rating: Masterpiece